Mass sentencing in Egypt

Egyptís interim government wobbled dangerously last month when a court sentenced 529 defendants to death. The unprecedented verdict, in the slaying of a single police officer, came after a brief show trial...

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Posted Apr. 4, 2014 @ 12:01 am

Egyptís interim government wobbled dangerously last month when a court sentenced 529 defendants to death. The unprecedented verdict, in the slaying of a single police officer, came after a brief show trial from which as many as 400 of the accused were absent.

Legal experts say it is doubtful that the sentences will be carried out. In Egypt, anyone convicted in absentia has an automatic right to retrial. Those who were present have a right to appeal. And in either case, capital sentences must ultimately be approved by a religious authority.

Still, Western nations and human rights organizations were quick to condemn the development, and rightly so. The death sentences expressed a blanket condemnation of the Muslim Brotherhood, now regarded by the government as a terrorist organization. Such gestures violate the rule of law, and place Egyptís entire democratic project at risk.

Egypt has been in turmoil ever since President Hosni Mubarak was deposed, in 2011. The next year, Mohamed Morsi, an Islamist and former top official of the Brotherhood, became Egyptís first freely elected leader. His increasingly contentious rule persisted until last July, when the military ousted him in a coup.

Under Mr. Morsiís authoritarian rule, civil rights and religious minorities were under attack, hunger was growing, and unrest threatened the Mideast. American interests in the region center on a stable Egypt, peace with Israel and the free flow of energy through the Suez canal.

But the crackdown since the coup has been chilling. Some 2,000 Morsi supporters were killed in battles with authorities, and thousands were locked up. In August, security forces broke up two large camps of protesters, leaving almost 1,000 dead. When riots broke out in response, the police officer at the center of the trial was killed. His gruesome slaying, by bludgeoning, was filmed, and surely inflamed pro-government passions.

Further, since the coup, the government has seen more than 300 security officers killed by opponents. The mass sentencing was doubtless meant to send a message, and to quell unrest. But it will probably only stir new resentment, and radicalize more of Mr. Morsiís supporters.

New elections are expected this summer. Until then, the United States and other Western nations should press for restraint. Vengeful attacks and the widespread violation of basic rights will leave lasting wounds that undermine Egyptís quest for democracy.